Rant #2,526: Love the One You're With

Happy Friday, and this year, that means happy Valentine's Day.

I hope everyone out there got at least a card for their loved one(s), and maybe even a little extra too, like some flowers or a gift card or something to show their love.

Sure, this "holiday" is pretty much over-stated and overrated. It is a holiday for the greeting card companies to make a real killing, an occasion where seemingly everybody goes out and buys at least one card related to the day.

Restaurants also do well today, and being that this year's holiday is on a Friday, you can bet that many restaurants will do gangbusters on not just Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday too.

And what makes this year's Valentine's Day extra special is that it welcomes in the President's Day weekend, holiday and week, so this confluence of two holidays makes it extra special for everyone.

President's Day used to be a big thing, or at least the birthday's of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were. But then, some years ago, the two birthdays were combined into one, and kind of lessened and diminished on their own, as we now celebrate a single President's Day, and it honors all of our commenders in chief, from Washington and Lincoln to Obama and Trump, and even McKinley and Pope and Grant.

And then it was expanded by the school systems to not just President's Day, but to the winter recess, so many of us have a full week off of work and school to think about Carter, Clinton, the Bushes and Eisenhower, which I am sure is not in anyone's list of things to do during their week off.

And the holiday has been further diminished by the fact that it just isn't what it used to be. One example is that there is one bank out there--which shall remain nameless--that is actually open on President's Day but closed on Martin Luther King Day. Please, someone explain that to me.

But whatever the case, starting today, we have the confluence of two holidays--one of the heart and one of our history--and while some might think it makes for strange bedfellows, I guess it really doesn't in the grand scheme of things.

It is kind of important for retailers, as they can now have dual holiday sales days, one beginning with Valentine's Day and stretching through to President's Day.

Heck, Washington had Martha and Abraham Lincoln had Mary, so they were loved too,

We really shouldn't need special days or holidays to honor those we love and to honor those who have led us for the past nearly 250 years. But we have these holidays to really put an exclamation point on these things, so we have Valentine's Day and President's Day to remind us about them.

That kind of makes sense, I guess.

What makes no sense is the Houston Astros complete lack of contrition about their part in the Major League Baseball sign-stealing saga.

Yesterday, when speaking to reporters, both Astros players and owners tried to lessen the blow of any cheating, and the team's owner basically said he thought it had a minimal effect, if any, on the outcome of the 2017 season, the season in question, when the team won the World Series.

And he and his players insist that some type of electronic devices were not used during last year's playoffs, particularly against the New York Yankees, among the victims both in 2017 and 2019.

Their explanations are as hollow as can be, and for continuing to toe the company line, they should all be fined and suspended.

Only one Astros player, shortstop Carlos Correa, has come forward and admitted guilt.

Heck, if the Astros so minimized what happened, what was proven to happen, then explain to me exactly why they fired their manager and their general manager through this charade?

No, the Houston Astros will not get any love this Valentine's Day, and they are going against President's Day too, because George Washington's "I shall never tell a lie" credo is not being put in practice by that entire organization, which has yet to really come clean about what it did to win.

So have a great Valentine's Day and President's Day, and I say that even to the Astros. When 100-mile-an-hour fastballs come whizzing by your head, maybe your will make peace with yourselves.

And going by tradition, I am going to take the day off, like I always have, on Monday to celebrate President's Day, so I will speak to you next on Tuesday of next week.

Have a great weekend, have great holidays, and I will speak to you again on the second day of the workweek.

Classic Rant #1,194 (April 25, 2014): Tar Heel

Remember yesterday when I explained to those who didn't know, or care, that in the New York Metropolitan Area, sports are almost akin to religion?

Well, Michael Pineda put his name into local baseball lore with what he tried to get away with on Wednesday night.

After two years of injuries that did not allow him to pitch in a major league game, Pineda had been the "feel good" story of the spring for the Yankees, a 25-year old with a determination to make the big league team now that his injuries were a thing of the past.

He pitched very well, and made the team coming out of Florida in late March.

And once pitching, he did very well, continuing into the regular season.

Then last week, he raised suspicions of something devious happening by pitching at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox with something odd on his arm, something shiny and readily apparent to the eye.

He said it was just dirt, but you only needed limited eyesight to see that it was pine tar, or some other substance that allowed him to get a better grip on the ball in cold, New York weather.

The Red Sox allowed him to slide at Yankee Stadium, but at Fenway Park, things were going to be different if Pineda tried such a thing again.

He started on Wednesday night, and was hit hard in the first inning.

He same out in the second inning, and it was apparent that Pineda had that same, shiny substance on his neck.

Two were out, and he was in the middle of the count when Boston manager John Farrell, a former pitcher himself, came out, wanting the umpires to take a look at Pineda.

They looked at his uniform, his cap, his belt, and lo and behold, they found something on his neck.

Pine tar.

He was ejected, and the Yankees ended up losing the game.

And since last week, we have heard uttered the "unthinkable" in baseball--most pitchers use something illegal on the mound to get a better grip on the ball.

Pineda was caught because he made it too obvious.

This is not about spitballs, using substances to get the ball to move off its natural plane from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's mitt (or to the batter's bat). This is the use of substances to allow pitchers to grip the baseball in a better way, giving them a heightened ability to throw that pitch.

No, this is not as bad as PEDs, but it still is a blemish on the game.

And for the public, this brings a part of the game into the real world--athletes do cheat, so to speak, even marginally, which is what this whole pine tar mess is about.

Pineda rightfully got a 10-game suspension, apologized for his actions--that, by the way, the Yankees knew absolutely nothing about, supposedly, as he just smeared the pine tar on without anybody's knowledge--and now the Yankees are down a pitcher for maybe a start. Since pitchers start every fifth day, and the suspension began yesterday, they might need another starter for a game, maybe two.

But again, with the PED scandal still hovering over baseball, now we have this much more subtle type of cheating to contend with.

And yes, the sports world in this part of the country is talking about this as if it were the beginning of World War III. Such is the nature of sports in this area, which like I said, is almost akin to religion here.

Yesterday's game got the Yankees back where they should be, and even though Pineda continued to be the main topic of discussion, the Yankees came back to win, 14-5, and take the three game series against the Red Sox, 2-1.

Yes, when baseball season begins, you just know that the warmer weather is coming, and it seems the debate about "cheating" in the game will heat up as we get into the warmer months of the year.

Can't wait! Speak to you again on Monday.

Rant #2,525: In the Year 2525

You just knew thats I was going to use that title for this particular Rant, didn't you?

It is so easy to do, so I did it.

I can't quite think of anything else, anyway.

I overslept--I was up a good portion of the night with allergy problems, which I still have--had to shave--which I hate to do to begin with--and then after taking a shower and getting dressed, I went out to get the newspaper and found that the feral cats we have scrounging around for food decimated our garbage pails, with junk sprawled all around our driveway.

I had to clean this garbage up as best as I could ... and all this before I had breakfast with one eye open, because my allergies are that bad today.

The one good thing that happened took place yesterday, when Newsday actually got back to me about my story pitch. While they could not promise me anything, they said they might be interested in doing something, so people, keep those calls coming.

In fact, I was asked about someone else who took my lead and called them, a lady who used my name in reference. They asked me if I knew who the person was, and I have no idea. All I know is what they told me--that the caller was female--and that is all I have to go on.

Will the mystery caller please stand up?

Anyway, about "In the Year 2525" ...

This tune, which pointed to a, let's say, interesting future for making, is actually called "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)," but to this day, few people include the parenthesized portion of the name when speaking about it.

And just for the record, so to speak, the term "Exordium & Terminus," means "The Beginning and the End," and yes, it is Latin.

The song was performed by Denny Zager and Rick Evans, a duo out of Lincoln, Nebraska. Although the song hit the charts in June 1969 on the RCA Victor label, it actually was released a year earlier as a regional single, and when it began to create a buss, RCA picked it up for national distribution.

The single, which is backed with "Little Kids," was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s and of all time in the rock 'n roll era, steamrolling up the chart and reaching the No. 1 slot for six weeks. It hit the public's fancy when science fiction was hitting reality, as man was first reaching and walking on the moon,

How do you follow up such a smash? Well, in Zager and Evans' case, you don't.

RCA tried to follow this song up with another single which debuted in October 1969, called "Mr. Turnkey." I think they were trying to get people to read it as "Mr. Turkey," with Thanksgiving impending, but boy, was it a real turkey, laying an egg and only reaching No. 106 on the Bubbling Under chart.

And that was it for Zager and Evans, who released several other singles and two LPs, but nothing really happened for them after their one massive hit, which made them the epitome of what we call a "one-hit wonder."

And no, the urban legend that this "Zager"--the songwriter of "In the Year 2525"--was the same "Zager" who had some success in the disco era with the song "Let's All Chant" is unfounded. That "Zager" was Michael Zager, and while they shared the same last name, that was about it. But that rumor did circulate when "Let's All Chant" was moving up the charts.

So that is the short story of Zager and Evans and their one, single, solitary hit. Again, I did not hesitate in naming today's Rant after it, because the song is still so prevalent today; I seem to hear it all the time when I am listen to the 1960s satellite radio station, and more than 50 years ago, it was H-U-G-E with a capital H.

?So happy Thursday the 13th, and I will leave it at that.

Speak to you again tomorrow.

Classic Rant #1,193 (April 24, 2014): Heavy Meddle

If you are not living in New York, or not a sports fan, you have to understand that sports are almost akin to a religion in these parts.

And there is almost nothing more important than baseball, football, basketball and hockey.

The problem with the basketball end of things is that is usually revolves around the New York Knicks, perhaps the worst run franchise in the history of professional sports in America.

There is a cloud hanging over this franchise that never seems to go away, even when some good things are happening, and according to the New York Daily News, that is exactly what is happening right now.

Phil Jackson, former Knick who has won numerous championships as both a player and a coach, now hopes to add executive to his championship resume. He was hired by the Knicks to oversee their badly needing repair basketball operations.

The Knicks were supposed to challenge for the league championship this season, but to the dismay of the team's faithful fans, the team, wracked with injuries and a lousy court attitude, didn't even make the playoffs--made worse by the fact that the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets made the postseason.

Add to that that your star player, Carmelo Anthony, may bolt this summer for another team due to free agency, your starting point guard, Raymond Felton, may be playing on a prison basketball court due to his being arrested several weeks ago for gun possession, and you have many players on the team mouthing off against management, and you have a real bad situation here.

But Jackson is being paid well to fix it, and he seemed to be going in the right direction when he recently fired the entire coaching staff, led by coach Mike Woodson.

But now we hear that there are rumblings that owner James Dolan, who admitted when he hired Jackson that he knows little about basketball, is meddling in Jackson's affairs.

Jackson is supposed to have complete autonomy over the Knicks' basketball operations, but evidently, if you are an owner with deep pockets, you can say what you want and do what you want, simply because you still write the paychecks.

The Daily News has reported that Dolan and Jackson disagree over some personnel decisions that Jackson plans to make or has made. Whether that has to do with the since fired coaching staff, player personnel, or other front-office people is uncertain, but it appears that Dolan is not staying true to his word to stay out of Jackson's way while he cleans house.

Yesterday at a news conference, Jackson denied that Dolan was putting any pressure on him to rescind his decisions, but the more he denied it, the more it became clearly evident that something is going on behind closed doors that was not supposed to go on while Jackson is supposedly in charge.

What a media circus this has caused, but who believed Dolan, anyway, when he said that he would allow Jackson to do what he wanted in running the organization?

I certainly didn't. Dolan is the son of Charles Dolan, the guy who basically created another dimension of televison with Cablevision. They own the Knicks, Madison Square Garden, and many other New York entities. James, his son, basically inherited the franchise, which is a good thing for him, because without his father, he might be taking your order at McDonald's.

This guy is not the sharpest tool in the shed, as they say.

And he continues to show is ignorance in his running of the Knicks, the toy his father gave him so that he would completely stay out of the old man's way.

Again, the meddling is speculation, but why create such a clamor if there really wasn't some truth in it?

As a long-time Knicks fan, who actually was alive, around and cognizant when they won their only two championships in 1970 and 1973, I cannot believe what this franchise has become, the laughing stock of professional sports.

This was the team of brain power--Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Bill Bradley and the rest--and to have them fall like they have during the past 40-plus years is embarrassing.

Let's see if Jackson is able to do what he was hired to do, which is to right the franchise.

Right now, if he opted out of his contract, bolted back to California, and said his OKing a contract to run this team was a mistake, it would not surprise me.

God help the Knicks, whether that actually happens or he somehow stays on and continues to try to right this ship with a hole in its side that many think cannot be repaired.

Stay tuned ...

Rant #2,524: Try Too Hard

Each and every weekday, I get up, take a shower, eat breakfast, go right on the computer, write this column, then look through all the job ads that I get, then I take my son to work, come home, look through the job ads again ...

Yes, it is monotonous, it is boring, and ultimately, it is a complete, total and utter waste of time, because nobody is going to hire me.

I know that I am not alone, and yesterday, in our local Newsday newspaper, an article caught my eye that pretty much ascertained that for me.

The article, "Job Loss In Your 50s: Traumatic, and Common" was in the back of the newspaper in the Business section, but to me, it was the most important story in the entire newspaper, worthy of page one prominence, simply because it spoke directly about my situation and the situation of millions of other people just like me.

To sum it all up, the article said that a study by nonprofit newsroom ProPublica and nonprofit think-tank the Urban Institute found that more than half of workers who entered their 50s with stable full-time jobs would eventually lose those jobs by age 65, and the prospects for getting another position of equal balance was just at 10 percent.

According to the report, "Such concerns can seem remote" with the official un employment rate currently at 3.5 percent and the unemployment rate at 2.4 percent for those 55 years of age and older, but "recessions are inevitable, and even in good times, older workers can be more vulnerable to involuntary job loss because of age discrimination."

The article went on to give some tips on how older workers can keep the jobs they have, which to me, was negligible, because I don't have a job right now because the company I worked for since 1996 went out of business in October.

But the gist of the article--that older workers should always be looking over their backs and be wary of what could happen to them and their jobs--was something that everyone, even those with solid jobs and job histories, should pay attention to.

Earlier in the day, due to complete and total frustration at my situation--and yes, probably due to a little boredom--I posted this message on Facebook. I had not yet read the article or even knew it was in the newspaper, as I usually finish up my newspaper reading when I have lunch.

Here is the message:

"As I look at a solid four months of unemployment ...
Look, here is my deal: In the past four months since I have been out of work, I have had a total of one phone interview and one in-person interview where the status of the job was changed from full-time to part-time.
I have applied to probably anywhere from 10 to 30 jobs per week, and that is all I have gotten out of it since October 2019. And that does not count the five years I had been looking before I lost my job, when I knew the company I worked for was not solvent.
So, in sum total, I have applied to probably at least 1,000 jobs over the past five-plus years, and all I have to show from it is a total of about a half-dozen phone interviews and maybe two or three face-to-face interviews.
Based on all of this, I have to conclude it has nothing to do with my resume, it has nothing to do with my cover letter ... it has to do with my age.
So while the professional resume writers and job professionals who promise me and others in my boat the world may mean well, the only people who know what is going on out there are the people like me who are actually out there looking for a job in today's environment, which preaches inclusion but does not extend that to older workers.
I am going to be forced to retire when my unemployment runs out in about three months. I would never pay a fee for anyone's services in helping me find a job, because the problem is not with what I have to offer, the problem is that my resume and cover letter are being looked at by people half my age, who look at me as if I am 162 years old rather than 62 years of age.
It is as simple as that, and if anyone wants to dispute this, go right ahead, because I can tell you from personal experience that you can talk all you like, but you have no idea what you are talking about."

That was before I read the article, which I could have finished and simply turned the page on, but I decided to take it one step further.

Since the article was in Newsday, I called them up and asked them to further look into the theme of that story by speaking to Long Islanders who are in the same boat as I am in, forced out of a job and not getting another one because of their age.

I spoke to a woman who took all of my information, and she encouraged me to have others in the same situation call Newsday, and my suggestion could lead to something in the newspaper.

So I followed up my original post with a repeat of that post, plus the following add-on:

"I posted this earlier today, pretty much throwing up my hands at my situation.

Funny, but in Newsday on Page A28 today, they have a story that fits me to a "T"

Entitled "Job Loss In Your 50s: Traumatic, and Common," talks about how the likelihood of losing your job in your 50s and 60s is, and the trouble that one has when this happens.

I contacted Newsday about the story, and had a story idea: why not fill this story out by doing an original story in Newsday about people, like myself, in this situation?

While they did not give me any positive word on whether they were buying my pitch, they did ask me to get as many people in this situation as possible to call Newsday and state that they would be interested in participating in such a story.

So if you live on Long Island--Nassau and Suffolk counties--and you are in this situation, please contact Newsday at 631-843-2700, and that you are following up on a story proposed by me related to the story in Newsday today.

It is worth a shot, and who knows? Maybe somebody will recognize us for our talents--not our age--and hire us!"

Did it work?

At this point on Wednesday morning< i have absolutely no idea. Nobody from Newsday called me back, I have no idea if anyone on Facebook called Newsday--or for that matter, anyone on Linked In, where I also posted all of this--so right now, I can't say.

I do hope they call, and I do hope that they follow up on this.

Look, I don't care who the president is--whether it is Trump, Obama, Bush, heck, even Eisenhower or Kennedy--but the worst barometer for success of a president is the unemployment rate, because it is so full of holes it makes swiss cheese look solid.

The rate does not count those who have fallen off the unemployment rolls or those that simply do not not look anymore out of complete frustration. And it doesn't look at those who have somehow taken jobs that are so beneath them and their previous experience that they are being underutilized.

So when I hear that the unemployment rate is 3.5 percent, I know that you can add at least 10 points onto that number to get the real percentage of American citizens out of work. And when Newsday tells readers, in previous articles, that unemployment is so low on Long Island that it is, in their words, "virtually non-existent," I know this rate is not the gauge of success it is cracked up to be.

And yes, "cracked up" is the operative term here.

So once again, I did my due diligence, and probably did it for naught.

What else is new?

I will continue to get up each day, take a shower, eat breakfast, go right on the computer, write this column, then look through all the job ads that I get, then I take my son to work, come home, look through the job ads again ...

Heck, maybe a letter directly to the president is in order ...

And don't put it past me to do just that.

But first I have to get up, take a shower, eat breakfast, go right on the computer, write this column, then look throughall the job ads that I get, then I take my son to work, come home, look through the job ads again ...

Hot fun in the wintertime for sure.

Classic Rant #1,192 (April 23, 2014): I Have Gas

No, not from Passover matzoh.

The holiday ended yesterday evening at sundown, and my stomach held up pretty well.

Everything in moderation, and I think that is how I conquered the dreaded "matzoh stomach."

What I am talking about is gas over the price of gas.

I don't know about where you are, but in my neck of the woods, gas has gone up tremendously over the past few weeks, probably a dime or more from what it was.

And even with that, gas is higher in price this year than last year.

I think the average national price is in the $3.30s, but by me, the price is approaching the $4.00 plateau once again.

If I look around, I can get gas for about $3.75 or so, but most stations are at $3.79 or higher.

Why has gas skyrocketed?

As usual, it has risen because of every excuse in the book.

Let's see ... unrest in the Middle East ... refineries not pumping out what they should for one reason or another ... or perhaps the dreaded "summer mix" of gas that we get in New York, which is different than the "winter mix," and pricier.

No one has yet to explain to me why we have to have "mixes" by season. Isn't gas gas, and wouldn't a standard mix power my car through all the seasons?

And once again the average Joe like me gets the bill.

What else is new?

But also, what can you do?

I need gas to power my car to get to work, to go to the supermarket to shop for groceries on the weekend, even to get myself and my family to the movies on the weekend, if we so choose to do that.

We aren't wasting the gas, it is something that we need to live.

I don't really know what we can do to preserve the gas we have, and use it more wisely.

The days of joyrides are over, and have been over for years.

I guess it is simply supply and demand, and we are just going to have to live with the reality that gas prices are going to go up and down with regularity.

When I first got my driver's license in 1974, I think gas was 67 cents a gallon.

Now, it is more than five times that price, moving up the ladder during the past 40 years.

Who would have thought such things when I first started to drive?

But things are different now, and we are just going to have to live with it.

Rant #2,523: Light Sings

Today is February 11, the 42nd day of 2020.

On this day, someone was born that we all owe a great amount of debt to, whether we live in the United States, overseas, or even if we are an astronaut in space.

His name is Thomas Alva Edison, and on this date in 1847, he came into this world, and later in his life, changed it and shaped it like few have in their lifetimes.

Among his many inventions were the light bulb and the phonograph, two inventions that certatinly changed the way we viewed things and the way we listened to things.

He was also a businessman, and less known about him was that he was one of the first moviemakers, developing devices that allowed him to capture the moving image on film.

Interestingly enough, he was also one of the first pornographers, capturing the female form on celluloid in the altogether, sensing that there was a need for this type of photography was before Hugh Hefner was even born.

Edison died in 1931, and on a personal note, to prove that my mother seen it all and done it all in her 88 years, she were actually alive when Edison was still with us. My father missed by a month but just think of all the advances we have seen during the past decades that were spawned in some way by Edison's work, everything from radio to television to the very Internet you are reading this Rant on.

Without Edison, there would have been one of this, and when it comes to inventors, he has to come in at the top of the list for his innovative thinking and his brilliance in creating things that we still heavily rely on today.

And without Edison, we would not have ever known about a few other people who claim today as their birthday, somewhat lesser lights but still people who have touched our lives in one way or another.

Actress Eva Gabor was born today, in 1919, and as one of the Gabor sisters, she was, along with sister Zsa Zsa, her own social media empire before that entity really ever existed.

Appearing on every talk show around during her peak period, the engaging Gabor talked about everything and anything, and with her diamonds and pearls and thick Hungarian accent, just about everything she said was funny.

She really made her name in the mid 1960s with the classic TV sitcom "Green Acres," where she played the city socialite who married the country lawyer. Playing off her own often inappropriate used of words and phrases, the show hit it big by creating its own world, where everything right was skewered, and we laughed as her husband--Eddie Albert--tried to work his way through all the ensuing entanglements.

After the show's long run, Gabor continued to be a staple of talk shows, and she passed away in 1995.

Another person who was born today that benefited from Edison's genius was actor Leslie Nielsen, who was born today in 1926.

The good looking Canadian actor made a name for himself in any number of movies and TV show appearances for most of his career, but he really hit it big when he starred in Hollywood spoofs "Airplane" and the short-lived "Police Squad" TV show.

This once straight-laced actor gave straight-faced performances in these vehicles amid the spoofs that they were, and he won an incredibly large fan following because of them.

"Police Squad," in particular, was a failed series that mocked police and detective TV shows like "Dragnet," to the hilt, and even though the original show lasted just a few episodes, producers believed the concept would work well on the big screen, and it did, through a couple of "Naked Gun" film series.

He also appeared in a number of other Hollywood spoof films, including "Repossessed"--which took on films like "The Exorcist"--and he died in November 2010 as the true "King of the Spoofs."

So there you have it.

At your next party, ask this trivia question: "What is the link between Eva Gabor, Leslie Nielsen and Thomas Edison?" I bet few will know that they were all born on the same day.

Pretty incredible when you think about it.